NEW YORK, June 19, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), operator of Open, Transparent and Connected financial marketplaces, today announced that RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (OTCQX: RXII), a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapies based on its proprietary, next-generation RNAi platform, has upgraded to OTCQX®, the best marketplace with qualified companies.

RXi Pharmaceuticals will begin trading today on OTCQX U.S., a segment of the OTCQX marketplace reserved for high-quality U.S. companies that meet financial standards, undergo management reviews and provide timely news and disclosure to investors. Investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the company on www.otcmarkets.com.

"We are pleased to welcome RXi Pharmaceuticals to the OTCQX marketplace," said R. Cromwell Coulson, President and CEO of OTC Markets Group. "RXi exemplifies the high caliber growing U.S. companies trading on OTCQX with a management team that hails from leading drug companies like Johnson & Johnson, Galena Biopharma and Cytomed, and an advisory board that includes a Nobel Laureate in Medicine. We look forward to supporting the RXi team as they continue to grow the company and provide a robust, transparent, public market for their shares."

"Upgrading to the OTCQX marketplace is ideal for RXi, allowing us to distinguish ourselves in the market and enhance our visibility with investors," said Dr. Geert Cauwenbergh, President and CEO of RXi Pharmaceuticals. "With OTCQX, we can clearly convey our qualifications to the financial markets and ensure our shareholders receive high-quality disclosure, transparent trading and easy access through their regulated U.S. broker-dealer."

RXi Pharmaceuticals is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing innovative therapies based on its proprietary, next-generation RNAi platform. Therapeutics that use RNA interference, or "RNAi," have great promise because of their ability to "silence" or down-regulate, the expression of a specific gene that may be expressed in a disease condition. Building on the pioneering work of scientific founder and Nobel Laureate Dr. Craig Mello, RXi's first RNAi product candidate, RXI-109, entered into RXi's first human trial in 2012. RXI-109 targets connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a key regulatory of fibrosis and scar formation, and is initially being developed to reduce or inhibit scar formation in the skin following surgery.

RXi Pharmaceuticals trades in the U.S. on OTCQX under the symbol "RXII."

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) operates Open, Transparent and Connected financial marketplaces for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through our OTC Link® ATS, we directly link a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services for a wide spectrum of securities. We organize these securities into marketplaces to better inform investors of opportunities and risks – OTCQX®, The Best Marketplace with Qualified Companies; OTCQB®, The Venture Stage Marketplace with U.S. Reporting Companies; and OTC Pink®, The Open Marketplace with Variable Reporting Companies. Our data-driven platform enables investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice at the best possible price and empowers a broad range of companies to improve the quality and availability of information for their investors. To learn more about how we create better informed and more efficient financial marketplaces, visit www.otcmarkets.com.